A lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology, University of Calabar, UNICAL, Dr Babatunde Lawal Saturday night narrowly escaped death after an attempt to kidnap him from the Staff Quarters failed.

Vanguard gathered that the ugly incident occurred at about 7:30 pm when the Victim was driving home to his quarters inside the University not knowing he was being trailed to his residence at the staff quarters.

Findings showed that the organised and forceful attempt to kidnap Dr Lawal failed because they met with powerful resistance and when they( Kidnappers) realised they made sure the injured him with several gunshots.

Dr Lawal who Spoke with Vanguard Sunday afternoon from his sickbed said that his assailants were armed to the teeth and numbering about eight.

He said: ” I had an assignment that was given to me by my boss and I didn’t want to stay home to avoid distraction because I was asked to turn in the work by today (Sunday).

“On my way home at about 7:00 pm I received a call from my daughter that I should get bread, so I did, it was on my way home, just by the house, I was accosted by some men with a gun, they were all armed.

“The one who ordered me to follow them was with a pistol while others were with rifles, he told me I was under arrest and ordered me at gunpoint to follow them when I realised they were not security personnel, I had to disobey their orders.

“Then they started hitting me, one of them slapped me from behind, they shot in the air to scare people, then shot me on my hand, and leg, then my thigh

“I fell to the ground, losing so much blood, they again ordered me to get up and follow them, but I couldn’t, I was gradually becoming unconscious and “fainted “, that was when they left me thinking I was dead, in fact, one of them came back to confirm if I was truly dead.

” Since I was no longer moving, they left the scene and fled into the bush, I had to crawl and started shouting for help with my last breath, that was when my son, heard my voice and my wife too, he thought I had been beaten by a snake when he heard me screaming.

” That was when they rushed me to the hospital, I thank God I am alive today because it could have only been God, who gave me the courage, if they had succeeded in Kidnapping me, I don’t know what would have happened by now,” he said.

A family source who pleaded anonymity told Vanguard that they taught they had carried him already not knowing that the gunshots they had were on him.

” I thought they succeed in abducting him, but we didn’t know he was shot severally, I had the gunshots from upstairs, but when he screamed in a very faint voice, calling out for help, that was when we realized that he had been injured, so we rushed him to the hospital.

” He lost a lot of blood that night, but we thank God he is responding to medical treatment ,” the source said.

There are insinuations that the foiled kidnap may not be unconnected to the salary arrears paid by the Federal government to lecturer’s since the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU resolved the Imbroglio with the government.

Vanguard learned that a lot of them were paid 3 months arrears and even more and these hoodlums want to cash in on this to disposes them of their hard-earned money by abducting them to get a ransom.

Source:- Vanguard